{"id":18790,"date":"2025-05-08T14:58:10","date_gmt":"2025-05-08T14:58:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/18790\/"},"modified":"2025-05-08T14:58:10","modified_gmt":"2025-05-08T14:58:10","slug":"bracket-update-thursday-game-predictions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/18790\/","title":{"rendered":"Bracket Update, Thursday Game, Predictions"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 2025 NBA Playoffs<\/a> continue on Thursday, May 8, with the Golden State Warriors<\/a> taking on the Houston Rockets<\/a> without Stephen Curry<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The sharpshooter is out for at least a week with a hamstring strain.<\/p>\n

Before we preview tonight\u2019s matchup, we\u2019ll recap the dramatic events from Wednesday\u2019s games. But first, here\u2019s the updated playoff bracket.<\/p>\n

Updated 2025 NBA Playoffs Bracket<\/p>\n

Last night\u2019s action had one predictable and one unexpected result, with the New York Knicks<\/a> prevailing over the Boston Celtics<\/a>, expanding their series lead to 2-0, while the Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a>, even the series with the Denver Nuggets<\/a> at one-all.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the updated 2025 NBA Playoffs bracket reflecting last night\u2019s results:<\/p>\n

\"2025The updated 2025 NBA Playoffs bracket after Wednesday\u2019s games.<\/p>\n

Wednesday, May 7 \u2013 Game Recaps<\/p>\n

New York Knicks 91, Boston Celtics 90<\/p>\n

Knicks lead series 2\u20130<\/p>\n

It was d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu all over again in Boston, as the Knicks turned what could have been another 20-point Celtics blowout into a narrow, single-possession victory.<\/p>\n

Trailing once again by 20 points in the third quarter, the Knicks rallied to secure a stunning 91\u201390 win, taking a commanding 2\u20130 series lead as the matchup shifts to Madison Square Garden<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Josh Hart<\/a> led New York with 23 points, while Karl-Anthony Towns<\/a> contributed 21 points and 17 rebounds. Mikal Bridges<\/a> scored all 14 of his points in the fourth quarter, including a game-sealing steal against Jayson Tatum<\/a> in the final seconds. Jalen Brunson<\/a> added 17 points and hit two crucial free throws with 12.7 seconds remaining to give the Knicks the lead.<\/p>\n

The Celtics collapsed in the fourth quarter, missing 13 consecutive shots and committing 16 turnovers overall. Tatum had another frustrating night, finishing with just 13 points on 5-of-19 shooting and committing a critical turnover at the end.<\/p>\n

The Knicks have found a formula to contain Tatum with Bridges, OG Anunoby<\/a>, and Mitchell Robinson<\/a>. Notably, the Knicks were +19 with Robinson on the court.<\/p>\n

Boston is too good of a team to be swept, but the momentum is now with New York, as the series heads to the Big Apple.<\/p>\n

Series Prediction: Knicks in 5.<\/p>\n

Next Game: Saturday, May 10, 2025, 3:30 PM Eastern, Madison Square Garden, New York City<\/p>\n

Oklahoma City Thunder 149, Denver Nuggets 106<\/p>\n

Series tied 1\u20131<\/p>\n

The Thunder thundered back on Wednesday night, responding emphatically to their Game 1 loss, delivering a historic 149\u2013106 blowout against the Nuggets to even the series. The Thunder set a franchise playoff record and tied the NBA<\/a> playoff record with 87 first-half points, leading by as many as 48 during the game.<\/p>\n

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander <\/a>led the charge with 34 points on 11-of-13 shooting, including a perfect 11-of-11 from the free-throw line, and added eight assists. Jalen Williams contributed 17 points, while Chet Holmgren recorded a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds.<\/p>\n

Denver\u2019s Nikola Joki\u0107<\/a>, who dominated in Game 1, was limited to 17 points and fouled out late in the third quarter. The Nuggets struggled defensively and were overwhelmed by the Thunder\u2019s offensive onslaught.<\/p>\n

The series now heads to Denver.<\/p>\n

Series Prediction: Thunder in seven.<\/p>\n

Next Game: Friday, May 9, 2025, 10:00 PM Eastern, Ball Arena, Denver, CO<\/p>\n

Thursday, May 8 \u2013 Game Preview<\/p>\n

Minnesota Timberwolves at Golden State Warriors<\/p>\n

Warriors lead series 1\u20130<\/p>\n

The Warriors handily won Game 1 by a 99\u201388 margin, despite Stephen Curry\u2019s second-quarter exit due to a hamstring injury. Buddy Hield stepped up with 24 points, and Jimmy Butler added 20. The Warriors\u2019 experience proved decisive against the young Timberwolves, who struggled offensively.<\/p>\n

Anthony Edwards managed only one point in the first half and finished with a subpar shooting performance. <\/p>\n

For the Warriors, Draymond Green<\/a> was critical on both ends of the court, scoring 18 points. The question for tonight is: Can he and Golden State repeat what they did in Game 1? That\u2019s unlikely. Expect the Timberwolves to bounce back and even the series.<\/p>\n

The semifinals series now heads to San Francisco for Games 3 and 4, and the fate of the matchup may hinge on whether Curry is able to return. If he can make it back for Game 4 on Monday, this series could become a far more competitive battle.<\/p>\n

Series Prediction: Timberwolves in seven.<\/p>\n

Time: 7:30 PM Eastern<\/p>\n

Venue: Chase Center, San Francisco, CA<\/p>\n

TV: TNT<\/p>\n

Streaming: TNT app and website, Max, Hulu + Live TV, Sling, YouTube TV<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 2025 NBA Playoffs continue on Thursday, May 8, with the Golden State Warriors taking on the Houston…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18791,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1431,375,7,75,1328,187,164,288,78,77,313,327,563,1260,152,6,11,191,1433,741,179,209,573],"class_list":{"0":"post-18790","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba-playoffs","8":"tag-2025-nba-playoffs","9":"tag-anthony-edwards","10":"tag-basketball","11":"tag-boston-celtics","12":"tag-buddy-hield","13":"tag-denver-nuggets","14":"tag-golden-state-warriors","15":"tag-jalen-brunson","16":"tag-jaylen-brown","17":"tag-jayson-tatum","18":"tag-jimmy-butler","19":"tag-josh-hart","20":"tag-karl-anthony-towns","21":"tag-mikal-bridges","22":"tag-minnesota-timberwolves","23":"tag-nba","24":"tag-nba-playoffs","25":"tag-new-york-knicks","26":"tag-nikola-jokiu0107","27":"tag-og-anunoby","28":"tag-oklahoma-city-thunder","29":"tag-shai-gilgeous-alexander","30":"tag-stephen-curry"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/114472806608207132","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18790","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18790"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18790\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18791"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18790"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18790"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18790"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}